Even before "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" hit theaters, a third movie in the series was announced, with writer Drew Pearce — who was then prepping "Iron Man 3" for Marvel — hired to pen the script. Though no release date was revealed, it wasn't expected to be far away. But scheduling soon became a major obstacle.
In September 2012, Jude Law remarked on these delays. "I mean there's certainly talk of it," the star revealed (via Collider), "and I know there's a script being played around with, but Downey's a busy boy and I'm a busy boy, so we'll see. But we want to [do another one]. We are a very happy team and we have a lot of fun and we also think there's still a lot of legs in the duo."
Between Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and director Guy Ritchie always being in demand, it seems like something had to give if "Sherlock Holmes 3" were to ever move forward. That "give" finally gave in 2019 when Dexter Fletcher signed on to replace Ritchie as the sequel's director, with a planned 2021 release date. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the project became one of many to be put on hold.
As of 2022, Fletcher remained unsure of when "Sherlock Holmes 3" might finally see the light of day. "I don't know what the timeline of that is, unfortunately, but I believe it should be [happening]," he told Collider. "It's fantastic. I think it's about all the right people being at the right place, at the right time. I think it's that."
